TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sonic R - Livin' In Da City]

I like the beat at the beginning, but it’s a bit dry. Some reverb could really help give it some more atmosphere. The harsh synth that plays on beats 2 and 4 after :22 gets a little obnoxious. The atmospheric pads and floaty synths that come in at :55 are nice, though. I liked the breakdown in the texture at 1:05, although this piece progresses pretty slowly. I like the vocal samples at around 1:50 too. The climax at 2:25 ended up being pretty anticlimactic when it led to the minimalism at 2:35. I think the vocals at 3:30 (and other places) could stand to be a little more upfront in the mix - after all, it’s the principal melodic content in the piece. I appreciated that you were taking the piece in a different direction at 4:48. The piece also feels pretty climactic at around the 6-minute mark, which is good. I don’t think the piece needed to be quite this long, though. You fill a lot of the texture with parts that are similar to 2:35, with the only moving part being the filtered synth bass. Overall, this is pretty solid work. Giving a little more emphasis to the melodic elements here (and less on the progressive beats) might help consolidate the theme and give the piece some more shape, though. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.25/10

PaulyBFromDa303 responds:

This is good to know. I always love an honest review and this one is to the T. It would appear I need placement practice. And variety. The biggest difficulty with this one was trying to find a way to switch from major to minor without losing the tensity. There were some parts where my computer program actually crashed from all the tiny details i was adding. Yes, i think it was right before that 4:48 part when all the instruments died out one by one. Melody was tough too. The copy of the vocals i had were a little rough around the edges and it was blatantly obvious.

I know i can do better. I should've done something different for that contest. I wasn't ready to try out something like this just yet lol. Hey, seriously though thank you. I needed to know

[Lunatic]

I like the melodies at the beginning, although they were a bit square (i.e., lacking rhythmic variety). Nice full texture at the beginning, too, although the piece does throw you right into the action a bit (needs a strong intro IMO). I like the pitch bending too, although the transition at :16 was really sudden. A lot of the instruments here are pretty generic, although the mood and atmosphere are good. 1:05 is another rough transition. I’d encourage you to use drums or sweeps more often to foreshadow transitory moments. It’d help if the drums could be a little more upfront in the mix. I think you need to spend some serious effort on equalizing and compression here to tighten things up in the production quality department. The structure of this piece is also a little bizarre - the melody seems to pop in at a bunch of arbitrary places with little warning. The melody itself is really good, and I’m encouraged by the rich texture throughout the piece. I think you have a ton of potential, actually. I have two huge goals for you. One is to work on the mixing. Please look into using an equalizer to eliminate distortion in your tracks. It’s especially useful to get rid of the bass frequencies in every instrument except for the bass and kick. Adding a compressor to the drums will also help give your piece more drive and punch. Second, the structure of this piece needs to be a little more less complicated. I want to see you use more dynamics, phrasing, and build-ups to transition into various sections of the piece, rather than just adding and subtracting instruments every 10 seconds, which can be really jarring for the listener. I like your style a lot, though. Right now, you’re really young, but in a few years (once you get a better sense of flow and mixing/mastering), things could really take off for you. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.25/10

[The Warmth of a Queen's Kiss]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the beat. I think the drums sound pretty dry, though - they really could use more reverb at the very least. The melody at :43 is cool, although the instrument that played it is a little generic. Same with :54. The drums could be a bit stronger during the melodic sections, though, just to give the piece some intensity and drive. At 1:36, the melodies really overpower the floaty synths in the background. I think you should be more careful with the mixing here - couldn’t hurt to tone down the reverb on some of the melody instruments, and more importantly equalize and compress some of the background synths and drums. Overall, the mood and atmosphere of the piece are my favorite elements. The piece is also well-structured, and you vary the energy level and dynamics pretty well. That said, the melody could use some variation itself. Overall, this is a well-composed piece with a lot of potential, but the production quality detracts from my enjoyment of it. Thinking about the frequencies that each of your instruments uses is really important! Spend a little more time on that next time, and you’ll have a really stellar piece on your hands. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.25/10

[Launch Window]

I like the smooth synths at the beginning. Nice use of atmosphere too. The synth at :14 sounded a little generic, but I liked the progression. The drop at :55 is cool, if a little minimalistic. It also drags on for a bit long. I really appreciated the structural variety you offered at 1:57. The transition to tranquility was well done, and I liked the melodic content at 2:25 a lot as well. The production in this piece is pretty clean, although the kick could’ve been a little more upfront in the mix. The drop might need a little more variety the second time around, and the ending is a bit abrupt. Overall, this is an enjoyable piece. I think the lack of originality and repetition in the drops and melody hurt you the most, but still pretty solid work here! Keep at it, my friend. ;)

8/10

[Sunny Habitat]

I like the synths and percussion at the beginning. I like the sense of climax into :30, and subsequently into 1:15. The synths were a little generic at 1:15, and I would’ve liked to hear the hats at 1:30 come through the mix a little more. The breakdown at 1:50 is great, though, and really helps offer some solid structural relief. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy, but this is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. Honestly, the lack of originality is my main concern. Cool melodies, nice sense of harmony and texture, and a pretty clean mix overall. Nice work! ;)

8/10

dukebartje responds:

Thank you for the review! I have to admit, I usually take it a step higher when it comes down to how 'original' it sounds :) I'll work on that for the next songs! :D

[LS- Survival]

The synths at the beginning are a little harsh and distorted. I’d suggest some more careful equalizing to at least remove some of the treble tones. The melodic content at :52 is enjoyable, although I wasn’t a huge fan of this track’s instrumentation - when it’s not harsh and jarring, it’s cliche. There’s also not a ton of structural variety or melodic development here, and the melodies remain very simple throughout. The loop was pretty smooth, although I would’ve liked to see you flesh out the structure of this piece a little more. Overall, there’s a lot more you could’ve done with the composition here. I would’ve liked to hear more harmonic depth, and I also thought you could’ve done a lot more with the percussion here. It’s not all bad, though - the piece has a good atmosphere, and is also fairly catchy. Keep at it, man!

5.75/10

[Red Light Syndrome (Original)]

The atmospheric fade-in at the beginning was a cool idea. I love the instrumentation, and peachymaiden’s voice is really light and flowing. The lyrics at 1:25 are pretty jarringly violent, and don’t really compliment the mood of the piece all that well. The echo effects at 2:14 and other places are a little cheesy, but overall the composition is really strong here. I also think the drums could be a bit stronger in the mix. The chopped-up vocals at 3:40 didn’t fit the character of the piece well IMO. I appreciated the breakdown at 4:18, although the piece drags on a bit long. I like the layered vocals starting around the 5-minute mark. They add a great sense of climax and resolve to the piece. Overall, this is really strong work. Keep it up, you two! :)

9/10

Jabicho responds:

Hi man! thanks so much for taking the time to write such helpful review! :D
We'll take all suggestions with pleasure, It means a lot that you took the time to check out all parts of the song :D

[Poison (wip v3)]

The distorted synths at the beginning are cool, although I think I would’ve toned down the reverb a bit before you clearly established the chord progression at :06 - the reverb adds more to the texture when there’s more space in the mix. That’s a pretty small detail, though. The heavy chords at :16 sound a bit generic (the instrument, that is), and the drums at :38 are very distorted. I’d probably adjust the equalizing a bit in those chords to make some more room for drums, and some compression wouldn’t hurt. The transitions at :49 and 1:10 are pretty sudden, and I’m a little confused about the direction of this piece overall. There’s not much melodic content or cohesion, either. I appreciated when you stripped away the beat and pads at 2:15 for some structural variety, but I also would’ve liked to see you experiment more with dynamics and phrasing in this piece. The sound design is pretty cool, but I really think you need to go easy on the reverb and add some clarity to the mix. Panning is also a good tool to use to clean up the mixing. The lack of melodic content and constant distortion really hurt this piece a lot. There are some neat ideas here, but the production quality lacks clarity, and that detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. Please focus on mixing and mastering going forward - improving these skills is a major step towards making a strong piece. Tell you what: if you make a piece that has a cleaner mix, PM me and I’ll give you a scout. Good luck, man. ;)

4.5/10

[Jovds - Piratian]

Interesting use of instrumentation. The kick drum is a bit too heavy on the bass frequencies IMO. I don’t think :27 had as much of a sense of climax as you wanted it to, though. I’d highly recommend experimenting more with dynamics and filtering, because it wasn’t immediately obvious that was the drop. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the instrumentation at the drop itself - it was a bit high-pitched and dry, and also didn’t blend very well. At the very least, it needs some more reverb and equalization, if not a different instrument altogether. The melodic content in this piece is pretty enjoyable, but the piece is very short and could probably benefit from a more fleshed-out structure. I also think a lot of this piece is pretty minimalistic - again, reverb might help with that. Overall, I think your main areas of focus should be the composition and instrumentation. The piece wasn’t all bad, though. It’s fairly catchy, and, like I said, the melodies are refreshing. Keep at it, man! :)

5/10

jovds responds:

I weirdly feel like I've read this before... but anyway, I agree with everything you said... can't think of anything else to say lol. Thanks for the advice...

[Believe Redux]

I like the frantic strings at the beginning. I think the bass is a bit too loud, and also sounds a bit distorted in the mix. I like how you revert to minimalism at the 1-minute mark. Good use of structuring there. I think the string pads at 1:29 are also a little too loud, not allowing the melodic content enough space in the mix. A lot of the instruments here are a bit generic, especially the synths. The woodwind solo at 2:14 was a nice surprise, although all the ornaments take away from the easy, flowing vibe it had early in its solo. I think this piece has a lot of variety and character, which is good. The piece could use a little more experimentation with dynamics and phrasing, though, and the fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. The composition is pretty strong overall. The mixing and instrumentation are my main concerns. Keep at it, my friend. :)

7.25/10

NGKFlower responds:

Thanks, I'm always making room for improvement. :)